MEMORIES

Tim Edwards

“We made sure the files were put away, the card file cabinets were closed and everything was secured as best we could.”

By Tim EdwardsSpecial to The Capital-Journal

In summer 1966, I was 20 years old and worked as a night clerk for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, along with another young man, Mike Brittain. Our hours were from 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday. The KBI offices were in the Capitol — first floor, southwest corner.

At 4 p.m., we reported for work. At 5 p.m., the regular employees — including director Logan Sanford, assistant director Harold Nye, records supervisor Harry Felker, several agents, lab personnel and all the office staff — left for the evening.

It was unusual for us to have a radio on in the office during the evening hours, but that night we tuned to WIBW and we were listening as reporter Bill Kurtis made his impassioned plea, “For God’s sake, take cover.”

We made sure the files were put away, the card file cabinets were closed and everything was secured as best we could. We stood near a window where we could see somewhat to the southwest.

There was construction at the south side of the Capitol. When we saw a semi-trailer blow over and large pieces of wood coming over the south end of the state office building, Mike thought it would be safer in the middle of the Capitol. Just then flying debris hit the dome, and Mike hurriedly returned to the office.

No windows were broken in the Capitol that I remember, because the tornado made a slight jog east and hit the state printing building and other buildings just south of 10th and S. Kansas Avenue.

Director Sanford and a couple of other agents arrived within 30 minutes after the tornado passed. Mike and I realized the houses two blocks south had been severely hit, and one of the women who worked in records lived there.

Mike and I made our way through a lot of debris to where our co-worker’s house had been. We heard voices and located an outside stairwell leading to a basement apartment. With help, we moved the debris from the stairwell, allowing the residents who had taken refuge in the basement to come out. Another friend, Ellsworth Crowley, worked at the (Kansas) State Historical Society, which was at S.W. 10th and Jackson. The building had sustained some window damage, so the director, Nyle Miller, asked if Ellsworth would spend the night in the building.

After Mike and I got off work at midnight, we made our way over to the historical society. Early the next morning, we went out the window on one of the top floors onto a balcony where we could see across the city as the sun came up. The destruction was almost unbelievable. Most of the state printing building was gone, as were the houses to the southwest. To the east, we could see piles of cars interspersed with walls, trees and other debris. For the next several days, we spent the morning helping friends and family repair the damage the tornado had caused.